Display mechanism.



E. D. MEYER.

DISPLAY MBCHANISM.

APPLIOATION :FILED 11.52.13, 1909.

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Patented 0011.4, 1910.

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DISPLAY MEGHANISM.

APPLIOATION FILED MAR. 13, 1909.

Patented 0ct.4, 1910.

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NITEU OFFC. I

ERNEST D. MEYER, OF TRENTON, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO A. V. MANNINGS SONS, OF TRENTON, NEVI JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

DISPLAY IVIECHANISM.

4 Specification 0f Letters Patent.

Application filed March 13, 1909.

Patented Oct. 4, 1910. Serial No. 483,116.

To alt whom t may concern:

le it known that I, Enxnsnl). MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at rlrenton, in the county of Mercer and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Display Mechanisms, of which the following is a specification.

lli/ly invention relates to that class of display mechanisms in which a series of frames sustaining advertisements, pictures, merchandise or the like are successively shifted and displayed; and the object of my :invention is to provide a simple mechanism adapted to a lford as long a display of the signs, pictures, merchandise, etc. placed on it as is possible with any given rate of speed, with which the machine operates.

.ln the accompanying drawings forming a part of .this specification Figure 1 is a vertical central sectional view of the apparatus disclosing certain of its details; Fig. 2 is a plan view of the lower side of the bottom frame of the rotating part of the machine; Fig. 3 is a top view of said bottom frame and its immediate connections; and Fig. @L is an elevation of the machine as seen from a.

point in front of its display side.

For the support of the machine there is provided a base-plate 1, made of iron, and having a central opening` in it to receive and sustain the hollow metal shaft 2, which forms the axis of the moving parts of the mechanism. Mounted on the shaft 2, is the gear wheel 3, the hub 4, whereof is grooved on its lower face to form a ball-race. A similar ball-race is formed on the upper face of the base-plate 1, and in these two grooves are placed ball-bearings, 5. Rigidly connected with the hub 1 of the gear wheel 3 is the bottom frame (i of the rotative part of the structure. The frame 6 is circular in forni, and is centrally bored, as shown in Fi 1. This central aperture made larger than the opening through the hub 4 of the gear wheel 3 to receive the sleeve 7, to which the top frame S of the mechanism is rigidly attached. As the sleeve 7, rotates about the axial shaft 2, its internal diameter is made sufficiently greater than the external diameter of the shaft 2, to give clearance space between the two bodies, and obviate friction throughout its length, excepting at the top, where the shaft 2 is provided with a flange or collar to afford a bearing for the sleeve,

and prevent wabbling of the rotative part of the apparatus. The sleeve 7 is also rigidly attached to the bottom frame 6, and rotates with it.

The top frame 8 is of circular form, and substantially of the diameter of the bottom frame (i. A series of hollow posts or frame members, 9, are pivotally mounted on the bottom and top frames, G and 8, and provided with ball-bearings against said frames as shown in Fig. l. Each of the members 9 is provided with a metal frame, 10, rigidly attached thereto, whereon may he hung or attached the things intended to be displayed; and cloth, canvas, or the like may be stretched upon these frames, (see Fig. et) on which the display matter may be fixed. Each of the members 9 contains a shaft, 11, centrally placed therein, and journaled in the block, 12, which block is fixed to the member 9 by a set-screw, 18. The shafts, 11, project downwardly through circular openings, 1l, in the bottom frame (i, and have rigidly fixed on their lower ends crank` levers, 15, which crank-levers have pivoted on their upper sides near their' outer ends rollers 16. The rollers 16, are arranged to contact with a Cain-rail 17, which is sup` ported by posts, 18,1ixed upon the base-plate, 1; one of said posts being shown in Fig. 1. A spiral. spring, 19, is xed at its upper end to each block 12, and at its lower end to the shaft 11 (see Fig. 1), and after its original austment, may be sufficiently wound or unwound by unscrewing the key 2O or removing it from the path of the feather 21 on the shaft 11, rotating the crank-lever 15, and returning the key to cont-act with the feather. Such operation must, of course, be conducted, when the crank-lever 15 of that particular shaft 11 is cleared from contact with the cam-rail 17. Connected with the pedestal 22, or other structure whereon the apparatus is placed, are the stops, 23, 24, each of which is provided with a. deflecting arm 25 (see Fig. t). Thel deflecting arm 25 of the stop 241 is pivotally connected with said stop, and is controlled by a spring, 25a, which forces the said arm 25 to its normal position in the path of the lugs, 26, after it has been released from contact with any of said lugs.

Near the outer end of the lower horizontal member of each frame 10, is fixed a downwardly projecting pin or lug 26, so located as to contact with the defecting arms 25, as

the apparatus is rotating. To the lower horizontal member of each alternate frame 10 is fixed a cross bar 27, which has pivoted at each of its ends a roller 23, placed to contact with and roll upon the lower horizontal member of each of the frames 10, nextthereto. The movable parts of the structure are, of course, operated by the gear wheel 3, which may be driven by any desired means. In the present instance I have shown this operative means as a worm 29, which may be turned by a motor or by any transmitted power.

The operation of the mechanism is as follows: Then the gear wheel 3 is set in motion it turns from right to left, rotating the frame of the structure by the axial shaft 2, the frames 10 stand normally in a vertical plane with their respective crank levers, 15, or nearly so, and extend out radially from the machine, when the rollers 16 on the crank levers, 15, are not in contact with the cam-rail 17. As these rollers contact with the more sharply turned end of the cam rail, the frames connected therewith swing forward until they contact with the next frame in advance, or with the defieeting arm of the support 23, (see Fig. 4). The frame contacting with said deflecting arm is drawn forward with the rot-ating mechanism until its pin 26, clears the said deiiecting arm of the support 23, when its spring 19, swings it quickly, yet gently, around to the position shown by dotted lines in Fig. 3, when it contacts lightly with the next preceding frame, whose stop pin 26 is still in contact with the deflecting arm sustained by the support 24, and so remains until the rotation of the aparatus clears it from said arm, when the rame which has last cleared the deflecting arm of the support 23 contacts with the deflecting arm of the support 24. This operation is continuously repeated as the apparatus rotates. It will thus be seen that the apparatus may be rotated more or less rapidly as desired, and that it will operate with little or no noise; while, by the disclosed arrangement of frames, springs, crank-levers, cam, and deflecting arms, the mechanism effects the longest possible periods of display of the matter fixed upon the frames commensurate with the speed of rotation of the apparatus, and also simultaneously shows the sides of two leaves or frames in practically one plane.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. In a display mechanism, a rotatable frame; a display frame movably mounted on said rotatable frame; a shaft mounted in said rotatable frame, and having a lateral projection; a spring connection between said shaft and said display frame, and a cam, wherewith said projection on said shaft contaets to rotate the shaft when the rotatable frame is rotated, and means for temporarily holding said display frame, to expose a side thereof to full view and to put the spring under tension.

2. In a display mechanism, a rotatable frame; a display frame movably mounted on said rotatable frame; a shaft mounted in said rotatable frame, and having a lateral projection; a spring connection between said shaft and said display frame; a cam, wherewith said projection on said shaft contacts to rotate said shaft when the rotatable frame is rotated, and means for stopping said display frame, to successively expose each of its sides to full view.

3. In a display mechanism, a rotatable frame; a display frame having a hollow supporting member movably mounted on said rotatable frame; a shaft partly located within the supporting member of said display frame, and having a lateral projection extending without said supporting member; a spring connection between said shaft and said supporting member of the display frame; a cam wherewith said lateral projection on said shaft contacts to rotate said shaft, and two stops so located in the path of said display frame as to successively catch and temporarily hold said display frame to expose each of its sides to full view when said rotatable frame is rotated. I

4. In a display mechanism, a rotatable frame; a series of display frames movably mounted on said rotatable frame; a series of shafts having lateral projections; a spring connection between each of said shafts and one of said display frames; a caln wherewith the lateral projections on said shafts respectively contact to rotate said shafts, and

two stops so located in the path of said display frames as to successively contact therewith, and simultaneously hold two of said display frames to expose a side of each to full view.

5. In a display mechanism, a rotatable frame; a series of display frames movably mounted on said rotatable frame; a series of shafts having lateral projections; a spring connection between each of said shafts and one of said display frames; a cam wherewith the lateral projections on said shafts respectively contact to rotate said shafts; two stops so located in the path of said display frames `as to successively contact therewith, and simultaneously hold ltwo of said display frames, to expose a side of each to full view, and means for preventing undue frictional contact between said display frames when in motion. Y

ERNEST D. MEYER.

IVitnesses:

M. IVY M. AL'rnMUs, WILLIAM N. Coorim. 

